KYLE’S B&B: Latest News & Random Thoughts

Yes, really! I know there have been a few false starts so far this year, but as I am writing this, it is now 8 degrees F and falling, ( that’s -13 degrees C, if you happen to use that system). Not much snow to go along with it, although there were snow showers all throughout the day today; it just didn’t amount to much. Which is OK; saves the trouble of shoveling, not to mention, makes the roads much safer. But these temperatures, combined with some high winds, (the winds of Thor?), make for a pretty Jack London-esque experience. So, maybe my cat Ginger predicted the weather accurately after all, with her fur-forecast, (see entry below for January 7, 2007, for info about that). In any case, you can be sure the boys at Kyle’s B&B are huddling around the fireplace, wrapping themselves in quilts, and feasting on Kyle’s gingerbread cookies right about now! Wherever you happen to be…..stay warm!

I just felt the need to say that.

This is a topic I’ve been toying around with for several years, now…. the idea of producing the comic strip in full color, as opposed to the current black & white format. Actually, when the strip first premiered in late 1998, it was in color. I hadn’t planned it, but when Genre magazine offered to run the first few episodes as a showcase of the strip, they asked if I could provide it in color. I was glad to oblige, though conflicted. As I said, I hadn’t planned for the strip to be in color, and I wasn’t sure how those “made to be black & white” episodes would translate into color. They ended up looking fine, but there was something about the black & white I preferred. Perhaps it was the gloriously-produced romance comic strips of old, which made an artform of black & white, that I was shooting for with the comic strip, that I didn’t want to let go of. Or maybe the fact that all of my comic strip work up to that point, (Manic Music, Angel’s Story, and all of my high school & college comic strips), had been done in black & white, and it was a format I was used to. (My comic book work, though, was mainly in color). More recently, certain fans of the strip have made me pledge to always do it in black & white, as they feel it is the hallmark of the strip, and to go to color would take away from the overall look, feel, and moodiness of the strip, much as the glamour of many 1930s & 40s films is enhanced by their black & white beauty. So, reader, what do you think? How about leaving a comment here, (click on the comments link below), and share your input on this? I’d love to hear what you think!

For those of you following the continuing saga of my cat Ginger’s ever lengthening/thickening Winter coat, here is the latest pic, from New Year’s Eve. As you can see when you compare it to the post from one month ago, (Dec. 04, 2006), it has increased in length and thickness. Which is kinda blowing my theory out of the water, about Ginger’s coat getting extra thick & long only when we are having an extra cold/snowy winter. Because, this winter so far is the warmest, most spring-like winter I’ve ever experienced on Long Island. Yet, her fur coat is longer, thicker, & more luxuriously fluffy than ever. So, I can draw one of two conclusions here: either, (1): Ginger’s coat will grow long & thick every winter, regardless of the weather, or, (2): She knows something we don’t, i.e., we’re about to get hit with a massive cold, snowy winter after all. Winter is only just starting, right? Maybe that snow is on the way. We shall see, I will keep you posted! Oh, and one more thing… don’t mistake that winter coat for fat….Ginger is actually a very slim, light, lithe little kitty. It’s all that fluffy fur that makes her look big! She actually weighs half her brother Midnight’s weight. Just look at her summer pic, (July 21, 2006), when she has her shorter summer coat, to see how thin she really is. (P.S…. I think she knows how gorgeous she is. Look at the way she is always posing for pictures! And hey, I promise to get some pics of her brother Midnight up here soon. He is just as beautiful, in his own way, although I haven’t been writing about him as much lately because he’s a shorthair cat, and doesn’t have this whole fluffy coat thing going on. But they are real, blood-brother & sister, born in the same litter, from the same parents. They just look a little different. I can see the family resemblance, though, can’t you? Here’s a repost of a pic of him from a few months ago). Enjoy: